Can “Ted” Snyder Work His Magic On Yale’s School of Management?

Yale's School of Management is ranked 14th among the best U.S. business schools by Poets&Quants.

Yale’s School of Management is ranked 14th among the best U.S. business schools by Poets&Quants.

Among other things, freshly minted MBA graduates from the network schools will be able to apply for a new one-year Master of Advanced Management degree at SOM. Snyder plans to accept no more than one student from each network school for a total of up to 20 students a year. The program, open only to graduates of schools that sign up for the network, debuts this fall.

‘IT’S A BIG DEAL FOR US IN TERMS OF GLOBALIZING THE SCHOOL’

“It’s a big deal for us in terms of globalizing the school,” says Snyder. “This will be another group of unique students that Yale MBAs will get to interact with.” This cohort, moreover, will be in addition to the typical contingent of international students who now make up slightly over a quarter of the MBA students at SOM.

The network, which includes schools in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa, will share research and case study materials to more quickly globalize the SOM curriculum. A Fellows Program for faculty is being formed to allow member schools to send their professors to Yale for short spurts to interact with SOM professors. And the network will be used to connect the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute with other groups of entrepreneurs at member schools. An Internet portal will be created to connect student groups among the schools so they can more easily share knowledge and build relationships with fellow students around the world.

Snyder believes the network is also a way to engage corporate partners more deeply. “We’ve made it hard for companies to be involved over the years,” he says. “Part of this is to develop a network of corporate partners as well.” Among the early joiners are Alcoa, Blackstone, Bloomberg, Cargill, the Clinton Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell, JP Morgan Chase and McKinsey & Co.

Finally, he hopes to get SOM students far more engaged in the university’s existing Entrepreneurial Institute, where Snyder has been named one of three people overseeing the center.

All told, it’s an ambitious agenda, designed to get Yale the attention and influence that has long eluded the business school. How long will it take? “I don’t know if it will take five years or so, but it’s been a very good start,” says Snyder. “We’re part of a purposeful, eminent family at Yale and the convening power of the place is palpable.”

DON’T MISS: YALE’S BIG, AUDACIOUS GLOBAL BET or YALE’S GLOBAL NETWORK FOR ADVANCED MANAGEMENT

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